I got a letter today - I am getting my top surgery on January the 8th. I thought this day would never come and I am thrilled!

I am concerned about a few things though - not the surgery itself, that worry might come later on. First of all, my surgeon has said that I won't be able to lift anything for a week. This doesn't seem like a lot of time to me, I specifically mentioned I have a 3 year old, who I need to lift into her bed each night - would I be able to do that? He says after a week I will. Can anyone back this up?

I will be back at uni shortly after my surgery. Should I realistically look at taking time off? Do I need to tell them I've had surgery or will it be easy to hide? They know nothing about my history.

If it is hard to hide - any ideas on what I can tell them?


Edit: Thought of something else - working out? How soon can I do this? I use free weights and I run on a treadmill. I would like to join a gym once I'm all healed up - and go swimming and hiking and generally all kinds of physical stuff I don't like to do with a burden on my chest. Anyone have any experience with how long recovery takes for that?

I don't have any kids, but I'm getting surgery in January too and I was wondering about the lifting and stuff too. I know most exercise will be after 6 weeks or so. Can you climb stairs and stuff after surgery with your drains and stuff in? Thanks.


Oh and sorry to hijack the thread.

Not at all feel free to add in any questions

I have another, how long do they keep you in hospital for? Days? Hours?

It's no more than 10ish pounds for 6 weeks. Get your kid a ladder. You will be moving around fine after 2 weeks just don't lift stuff or stretch, scars may turn out yuckier if you do. Don't exercise with weights until at least 6 weeks. I imagine stairs are fine any time but don't attempt to pull yourself up with the handrails. Take some walks and light moving like that for those 6 weeks. You should be back home the same day, unless some terrible complication happens.

You don't seem as well read on the subject, I think you need more research.

How long? I had surgery and was out the same day (which is how it is done in the US for the most part). I think without complications a day or two is typical in Europe, Australia. In same day surgery centers I think you are pretty much there for half a day or maybe a bit more.

Regular activities, lifting? I was not allowed to pick up anything over 5 pounds (I *could* but not should) for a few weeks. Dr G doesn't seem real specific after a few weeks. I think you do things gradually. I can do everything in my house except garbage and the litter box. (I am at 4 weeks). I have a friend who comes in a couple times a week. I was not allowed to drive for two weeks. I drive now, but have to drive lower hand. I have heard some doctors are VERy conservative and heard of one doctor who doesn't allow lifting over 5 lbs for 3 months. I think this VERY cautious! A 3 year old is kind of heavy but since you aren't doing this 10-15 times a day...It's not goign to kill you or completely strip your scars. Lifting with elbows locked and so on, you'll learn tricks.

I put about two weeks of meals in the freezer and got plastic utensils and paper plates, kind of at the end of those but it was a really good idea.

Exercise? Work out? It's good to walk around right after. I mean RIGHT after (maybe next day). You are not supposed to get your heart rate up while you are wrapped and maybe a couple weeks after that. I walked about a mile about 4-5 days after surgery. You can do walking and so on, but no weights and stuff like push ups for awhile (Dr G says 6 weeks which sounds way too early to me!) I think that this is going to be an individual thing of between 6 weeks to several months.
I think of hiking as more vigorous than walking esp for me it means elevation (hiking in the mountains).

Stairs? I could climb stairs the same day, they wouldn't let me because I was very wobbly. But the next day the wobbliness was completely gone. My room was upstairs and would go up and down stairs many times a day with drains and all.

Job and School? IF I had a sedentary job, I could have gone back to work in a couple weeks. I think the big problem for school is carrying books and so on. Maybe a little wheely backpack? You really shouldn't pull too much weight either. Carrying just a notebook and some pens wouldn't be an issue. You MAY not have completely normal energy right after, I did but that varies.

Hard to hide? well RIGHT after, it would be hard to hide drains and so on (if you have drains), but now, heck no. You might have bandages but they are going to be hidden by clothes. The nipple dressings and so on, I had for 3 weeks. You couldn't see them.

Thinking I'm doing a logistics video. Might put it up here. Not too many people talk about it beyond supplies.


--Jay

Jay a video would be fantastic if you find the time. I know I'd greatly appreciate it. Going in for surgery Dec 17th. Early Xmas gift for me! Lol.

Quote from: Jack_M on November 29, 2013, 12:06:54 AM
Jay a video would be fantastic if you find the time. I know I'd greatly appreciate it. Going in for surgery Dec 17th. Early Xmas gift for me! Lol.

Jack, awesome! I'd be happy to help out!! Are you traveling? I probably will include some traveling stuff too. I'm thinking this weekend. I have a really good friend who has surgery coming up.

--Jay

I thought of some more stuff re: exercise: Hiking. Well I hike quite a lot as we have some excellent mountains, but I couldn't hike in them until I can do push ups and so on. My kind of hiking involves a dog who gets excited on the trails and a hiking stick. If you are talking no hiking stick and not too vigorous, I think you could hike after your nipples are attached. I don't know but I was rather nervous til they were.

Swimming is obviously off til around six weeks. You have to be well-healed up. Most swimming is fairly hard work on the pecs (obviously excellent post-surgery!).

You could start walking the treadmill 2-3 weeks. I mean it can be as light or hard as you want.

Someone mentioned a kiddie ladder for the child getting in bed. It's a good idea. Even if you had to assist a little you wouldn't be bearing the full weight. I read the average weight of a 3 year old is 30+ pounds. The more stress you put on this the worse your scars are going to be.


--Jay

Quote from: aleon515 on November 29, 2013, 01:31:32 AM
Jack, awesome! I'd be happy to help out!! Are you traveling? I probably will include some traveling stuff too. I'm thinking this weekend. I have a really good friend who has surgery coming up.

--Jay

I'm thankfully only about 45 mins away by transit and obviously have someone giving me a ride home. Glad for that aspect. Will be good to sleep in my own bed that night .

Still getting bits and pieces and making up some meals for the freezer this weekend. Getting excited now .

I knew my surgeon telling me "one week and you'll be fine" was a load of crap

Someone mentioned research, I have done lots over the years which is why I was so confused about my surgeons optimism.

I am also not getting a double incision like a lot of people do - just the one incision for me, and one around the nipple.  He says this aids recovery time and obviously produces less scars ... but I am more likely to need a second surgery after 6 months to tidy up some lumps and bumps left over.

It's sounding like I may need to graduate my little one to a big kid bed. My partner can take a few weeks off work to be there at bed time and my sister is going to be babysitting as much as she can so I can rest. But 6 weeks before lifting over 30lbs is gonna be an issue 

She weighs around 35lbs, probably more like 40 once surgery day rolls around. The bars on her cot are really high - I have to lift her at around armpit height to get her over the bars and then lower her all the way down again to her mattress. The cot converts to a proper bed with some readjusting which makes the mattress higher and the bars lower. To be frank I wanted to keep the bars there as long as possible so she can't escape her bed and go running around if she wakes up in the night

The main thing I am worried about is uni. I have to carry several heavy books, folders and my laptop and my whole day is around 2miles of walking. I feel like I'm going to have to tell them SOMETHING about why I'm so delicate...I just don't know what 

You can tell people that you had surgery and can't lift. You can have surgery for a million different things that stops lifting, and if they ask what you say you don't want to tell.

One week and you'll be fine IS BS. Of course, you are fine in one sense. I had pretty good energy during the day. I could probably do 80% of everything I do by myself. 40 lbs is heavy. I think the small bed makes sense. You are NOT goign to raise your arms that high very fast, esp to lift and raise your arms. These things are too separate things. I still (4 weeks) can't raise my arms very high without feeling like it's pulling. Pulling feeling is bad.

Well obviously that much weight around campus every day is a problem. I know of some guys who made deals with friends to continue with classes. Sometimes you only THINK you need stuff when you don't use it at all. If it is needed to study, you can go study at home. Because I don't think more than a couple notebooks and a few pens is too realistic. Might get away with a laptop, if you packed everythign in a wheely backpack or something.

Back in your own bed that day: make sure your bed can handle you! I have a bed rest pillow (look that up) and a couple body pillows as well as a neck pillow. Actually have gotten really comfortable on my back, never heard anybody else say that, but I like all those pillows around me.


--Jay

Hey, Jeatyn.  I think that when everyone answered you they assumed you were getting the double incision.  Is this accurate, guys?

Does anyone know if the same information applies for a peri/keyhole?  I mean the lack of lifting weight for the double incision method is about the large incisions tearing.  Although I am confident that you shouldn't be lifting your 3 year old after one week with a peri/keyhole (it is unclear which you are getting), Jeatyn, your surgeon may be giving you different information than you are getting here due to it being a different surgery.  Do a bit more research and make sure you mention the peri when you post questions, since many people assume DI when one mentions top surgery.

Good luck!  You will love your new chest!

Yeah that's true. I'm pretty sure peri/keyhole will have different instructions. You could ask your doctor's office if they have written instructions they give to people post surgery. I think that's my first choice. If there aren't you could look up other people's surgeons, for some general info, though you would need to keep in mind that surgeons are different in what they think and some might be more right than others. THat said I think it's very interesting how different surgeons are in what they think and still get to the same place more or less. Binders, no binders; sutures, take out, dissolve; how much weight to pick up and when; etc etc.

You can obviously pull your incision with peri, but there is definitely much less incision to pull and it would no doubt be harder.

--Jay

Got another question. How long after surgery (DI) can you wear a Tshirt? I know for the first week with drains it's best to wear button ups, but when are Tshirts ok?

Hi, Darrin.

For me, the decisions I have made about "getting back to normal", have been based on my attempt to minimize my widening of scars.  With that said, you can certainly put on a t-shirt the same day you get the drains out.  Let the pull/feeling of your incisions be your guide on that one.  All of your physical decisions around movement with be natural based on how your incisions feel.  I was putting on t-shirts on week two, but I was also leaving them on for 24 hours after I got them on.  I leaned WAY over to get them off.  You will find that the feeling of the "pull" of your incisions will be your guide in the way you do things and what you do.

I was at the 5 weeks mark before I lifted my elbows above a 90 degree angle.  I still don't lift my arms all the way up, unless needed, and I am 7 weeks post op.  I am basing everything on my body.  If I don't feel pulling to the incision, then I do it.  If there is, I don't do it.

Today was the first day that I did any form of cardio exercise (hiking) because Garramone said to wait 6 weeks to do so.

I can get a t-shirt on, and could about 4 weeks out (I'm just about 5 weeks). It depends on when you can lift your elbows out easily. I still can't really raise my hands over my head but I sort of bunch up the sleeves and don't raise my arms out too high. Most of my t-shirts are a little large. I probably could have earlier, but I was a little afraid to try.

Yeah I wouldn't hike til later. Of course, I am considering hiking to be a strenuous activity, but not everyone does strenuous hiking-- I think of that more as walking. Walking you can do this right away, and should.

--Jay

I'm sorry I appear to have caused a bit of confusion. I'll try and clarify. I'm not getting peri (I wish! E cups over here ) or DI. It's a new technique that my surgeon apparently invented. He keeps the nipples in tact, just cuts around them an a stalk of blood vessels to keep everything attached, no grafting. Then one incision underneath to take off as much tissue as possible without damaging the blood vessels. Which is why I might need extra work once that's healed up.

Personally, I don't really understand it. I brought this up with him but I still don't get it. My chest is really large...and frankly saggy as hell. I can't really picture how he's going to take still attached nipples that are pretty much to my belly button and have them end up in the right place. But whatever, as long as I eventually have a flat chest under my clothes I couldn't give a damn about how it all looks underneath.

I do have a good friend who lives not to far away from me who I am considering asking to carry my stuff, and I just happen to have a wheely suitcase that converts to a backpack.

Sounds like a T anchor incision, but for a E cup??? I think you would be better off with a DI.

The T anchor (not testosterone, I think it's the shape) and wedge and so on aren't really anything new. I also agree with Alexthecat on this one, this is not for very large chests.
FTM guide talks about it here: http://www.ftmguide.org/chest.html
Have you asked to see comparable results in chests like yours. The latter is important. If he can't (or won't) show you results in someone with a DD chest or something, it's a bad sign.

That said, some people are pretty happy with this surgery, they say that the extra incision isn't as large so it doesn't show up so much as the larger incision line.

--Jay